Liquid dispenser for refrigerators



June 26, 1956 w. E. HOBBS ETAL 2,751,757

LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed June 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 26, 1956 w. E. HOBBS EI'AL 2,

LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed June 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,751,757 LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATORS William E. Hobbs and Newton P. Whaley, Jr., Dallas, Tex.

Application June 14, 1955, Serial No. 515,372

2 Claims. (Cl. 62-89) This invention relates to liquid dispensers for refrigerators and more especially to dispensing liquid from the refrigerator with the door closed.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a means of dispensing liquids from a refrigerator which is simple, inexpensive, eflicient and which does not require any special construction or modification of the refrigerator or refrigerator door.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unitary device of this type which may be readily installed without altering an existing refrigerator.

With the above objects in mind, this invention entails certain details of construction and combinations of parts, described and claimed hereinafter in the text of the application; keeping in mind that modifications may be made within the scope of the claims, without sacrificing any advantages of the invention.

These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description, claims, and drawings forming a part of this application.

Figure 1 is a small-scale front elevation view of a refrigerator having the invention applied thereto, a part of the refrigerator door being broken away to disclose the interior.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the assembly of parts that attach to the outside of the refrigerator.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the compression of the refrigerator flexible sealing-strip around that part of the invention which allows liquid to pass between the refrigerator and refrigerator door.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views; in Figure l of the drawings a conventional refrigerator is shown, having a door 11, a part of which has been broken away to disclose the interior of the refrigerator 12 with a storage shelf 13. In accordance with the present invention, a liquid container 15 is provided with an outlet 16 which fits between the grills of the storage shelf 13. A flexible hose 17 slips tightly over this outlet 16, to form a leak-tight connection, the other end of this flexible hose 17 fits over the flat portion of the liquid conduit 18 to form a leak-tight connection. The flattened portion of the liquid conduit 18 passes across the refrigerator front face 19.

As best shown in Figure 3, the liquid conduit 18 is one piece, being flattened on one end, then becoming round and turning ninety degrees. There is also shown a portion of the refrigerator door 11 with attached flexible sealing-strip 14 compressed around the flattened portion of the liquid conduit 18; the compression of said sealingstrip 14 around the flattened portion of the liquid conduit 18 occurs when the refrigerator door 11 is closed.

Referring now to Figure 2, the liquid conduit 18 is fitted with a ninety degree turn adapter 19. The liquid dispensing valve 20, with a threaded pipe adapter 21, is attached to the other end of said ninety degree turn adapter 19. A housing front-plate 22, back-plate 23, and

nitecl States Patent 2,751,757 Patented June 26, 1956 bottom-plate 24 are assembled together to provide a means whereby the liquid dispensing valve 20 and liquid conduit 18 may be held fixed in their position. The liquid dispensing valve 20 is attached to the housing front-plate 22 by the threaded nut 25. The liquid conduit 18 is assembled within the housing back-plate 23 by inserting the flattened portion of said liquid conduit 18 through the opening 26 and extends from the housing back-plate 23 upon assembly, through the opening 27. Attachment means for the housing back-plate 23 is provided by'the vacuum cups 28, the threaded portion of which extends inside of said back-plate 23 through the holes 29; said vacuum cups 28 being secured to the housing back-plate 23 by the fasteners 30. The housing assembly frontplate 22, back-plate 23, and bottom-plate 24 as shown in Figure 2, are easily disassembled for servicing the liquid dispensing valve 20.

As best shown in Figure 1, that portion of the device on the outside of the refrigerator is attached to the side of the refrigerator 31 by means of the vacuum cups 28.

The liquid container 15 may be easily removed from, or installed within the refrigerator, by disconnecting the flexible hose 17 from the liquid container outlet 16. A removable lid 32 is provided for the liquid container 15, whereby said container 15 may be easily filled or cleaned.

Now, with the device installed on either side of the refrigerator 10, it is possible to draw liquids through the liquid dispensing valve 20 on the outside of the refrigerator, from the liquid container 15 on the inside of the refrigerator, with refrigerator door 11 open or closed. it being understood that the liquid dispensing valve 20 is positioned slightly lower than the bottom of the liquid container 15, in order that the liquid may be readily drawn from said liquid container 15.

It is believed that the above description of the construction and operation of the invention will be completely understood without further explanation.

We claim:

1. In a refrigerator including a conventional storage shelf, a door-closed opening and flexible sealing-strip thereabout; a liquid container on said storage shelf with a liquid outlet extending downward between the grills of said storage shelf, a flexible hose removably connected to said liquid outlet, the other end of said hose being connected to a liquid conduit, having a flattened portion of said liquid conduit extending from the inside of said refrigerator to the outside across the front face of said refrigerator, permitting the compression of said flexible sealing-strip around said liquid conduit without interfering with the operation of the door, the end of said liquid conduit extending outside making a ninety degree turn to parallel the side wall of the refrigerator, and being connected to a ninety degree adapter, the other end of said ninety degree adapter being removably connected to a liquid dispensing valve, that portion of the liquid conduit on the outside of said refrigerator and the liquid dispensing valve being enclosed in part by a housing which is provided with suitable attachment means to the side wall of the refrigerator, said liquid dispensing valve providing for the flow of liquid from said liquid container with the refrigerator door closed or open.

2. In a refrigerator including a conventional storage shelf a door-closed opening and flexible sealing-strip thereabout, a liquid container on said storage shelf with a liquid outlet extending downward between the grills of said storage shelf, a flexible hose removably connected to said liquid outlet, permitting the removing of said liquid container from said refrigerator for cleaning, the other end of said hose being connected to a liquid conduit, having a flattened portion of said liquid conduit extending from the inside of said refrigerator to the outside across the front face of said refrigerator, the end of 3 said liquid conduit extending outside, making a ninety degree turn to parallel the side wall of the refrigerator, and being connected to a ninety degree adapter, the other end of said adapter being removably connected to a liquid dispensing valve, that portion of the liquid conduit on the outside of said refrigerator and the liquid dispensing valve being enclosed in part by a housing which is 7 provided with suitable attachment means to the side wall of the refrigerator, said liquid dispensing valve providing for the flow of liquid from said liquid container with the refrigerator door closed or open.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Brown Feb. 2, 1954 

